He Never Betrayed Me
by misswhiteblack
Summary: It feels like she is betraying him sitting with his ring on her finger after eleven years without him. It just doesn't feel right dating anyone. It'll never be the same as being in love with him. R & R.


It was snowing. Big white snowflakes rested gently on her nose freezing it. The streets of Hogsmeade village were caked in the cold snow. Students swarmed all over the small village and snow balls were thrown through the air to hit someone or something. Little bundles of snow had come to build up in the corner of windows. Everything looked so romantic. Everyone was laughing, shouting and running about wildly forgetting the growing threat that they faced. Hogwarts stood black against the sky pale with clouds. The castle looked very impressive as the snowflakes danced about it covering the grounds and its students as the enjoyed a day in Hogsmeade. A small knit of four seventh year girls wandered out of the Three Broomsticks having enjoyed the warmth and the butterbeer that they had had. They were probably the most popular girls in the school. There was the stubborn, strong-willed Lily Evans with stunning red hair and almond shaped green eyes. The quiet and charming blonde with the brandy eyes was Emmeline Vance and behind her was the tiny, loud and playful brunette with dancing blue eyes, Hesita Jones. The final person to emerge from the Three Broomsticks was the tallest of the lot towering over they tiny Hesita. Mischievous and daring with unusually tanned skin for the winter was Serena White. Piercing emerald eyes looked out from the slim face as she tossed back the long brown curls that cascaded down her back.

'Christ its cold,' Lily murmured under her breath which came out of her mouth like a puff of smoke. The other three witches raised their eyebrows slightly. Lily was the only one of them to be muggleborn. Hesita's mum had been a muggleborn but she had died when Hesita was only two and so her dad had been left to raise her. Therefore three out of the four witches found the use of the word "Christ" a very odd thing.

'Well it is snowing,' said Serena pointing out the obvious as she pulled on her dragon skin gloves covering a sparkling silver diamond and black sapphire that sat on the fourth finger of her left hand. Suddenly the four girls became bombarded with obviously bewitched snowballs that every time they hit someone they would multiply. Lily, Hesita and Emmeline all squealed and ran for cover with the snowballs chasing them. Serena however whipped round when laughter had reached her ears to see four well known boys almost lying on the ground in stitches. Still being attacked by snowballs Serena raised her right eyebrow and pulled out her wand. In one swoop the snowballs froze and then headed in the direction of James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew, better known as the Marauders. They all immediately stopped laughing as the snowballs began to attack them. Serena laughed as James began to try and reverse the spell.

'Moony,' he called, 'do something.'

The Sandy haired Remus Lupin, better known as Moony, ducked under a snowball only to be hit by three more when he turned to look at James. The short, shy Peter Pettigrew already looked like a small sort of snowball. He was almost white having been hit so many times. The bold, wild haired James Potter kept trying to avoid the snowballs using several shield charms and finally the dramatic, raven haired Sirius Black was diving all over the place James Bond style. Not that he knew who James Bond was. In fact he was even throwing snowballs back at Serena who quickly deflected them with her wand a slight smile of satisfaction on her face. Eventually Lily, Hesita and Emmeline rejoined her laughing at the boys.

Suddenly the snowballs dropped out the hair and the girls shrieked as one Sirius Black made a dive for them and tackled Serena down into the snow. The rolled over laughing until they finally came to a rest with Serena's back pressed into the snow and Sirius lying on top of her.

'Padfoot,' said the exasperated voice of James, 'surely you can wait until you're actually married.'

The others laughed but Serena just stared into the grey eyes specked with blue that were looking at her. A smile was on his broad mouth and his black hair was hanging in his eyes messily. She smiled at him.

'Hi,' he said softly.

'Hi,' she whispered back.

Out of the corner of her eyes she could see Hesita pretending to be sick. She smiled and concentrated back on the eyes before her. Suddenly there came a new voice, one that she didn't recognize.

'Serena. Serena. Serena. Serena are you evening listening to me?'

Her eyes focused. There was snowing piling up in the corners of the paned window. She glanced around hurriedly looking at the other diners in the restaurant wondering if any of them had noticed her day dreaming and then she looked back at the man before her. He had dark black hair that was short and spiky. He had an Italian look about him with a long straight nose and dark blue eyes. The thirty-three year old smiled at him apologetically.

'Sorry Ian. It just looks so beautiful when it snows.'

Ian Fraser turned his dark head to look out the window where Serena had just been staring. He smiled slightly and turned back round to look at her. Something was up. He could tell. He hadn't known her all that long even though they had lived in the same village for the last ten years. That was why he had asked her out. Like a date sort of thing. Yet she was hardly paying attention to what he was saying. She stared off into the distance playing with her engagement and wedding ring. He watched her as she raised her wine glass to her lips her eyes darting to the window ever so often.

'I've wanted to take you out for ages you know,' he said suddenly. Serena choked and spluttered into her wine. She set the glass on the table and continued to cough into her napkin. Ian watched her until she was finished. She then composed herself.

'Sorry,' she apologized. 'Down the wrong pipe.'

He raised an eyebrow as she smiled slightly at him. Yet the smile didn't reach her eyes. It was half hearted and he knew that instant that she didn't really want to be there.

'Shall we go then?'

She nodded. Ian called for the bill and paid as Serena gathered her coat and bag together. She slipped her jacket on then pulled on her dragon skin gloves covering up the sparkling ring. She bit her bottom lip slightly but then turned towards the door. Ian put on his jacket and followed her. It was still snowing when the got out and began to walk down the path beside the river. Serena shivered a little.

'Are you cold?' asked Ian beginning to take off his jacket. 'Here.'

He went to wrap it round her shoulders but Serena turned towards him and shook her head.

'No thank you Ian. Look I can't do this.'

'Do what?' he asked.

'This. The romantic meal, the walk in the snow, the offering of your jacket. I've done it before and it'll never ever feel like it did when I was with him. I loved him and I love him still. I can't give that up. I like you. You are a nice man but I'll never love you or having any feelings like those for you. I'm still in love with someone else. I'm Sorry.'

Ian looked at her for a minute and then put his jacket back on.

'Right,' he said and then fell silent. They stood for a minute in the dancing snow. He didn't look at her and she didn't look at him. They stared at the ground. She felt uncomfortable and he felt awkward.

'I lost my wife five years ago,' he said suddenly. 'How long has it been for you? How long since he died?'

'He's not dead.'

'You said he was but that doesn't matter. He left you. He left on your own with your daughter. He's not here anymore is her?' Ian was starting to get annoyed. 'Tell me Serena you still love him after he left you. Left you to hurt for the last ten years. You're letting him continue to ruin your life.'

'He never ruined my life,' burst Serena angrily. 'He never left me. He would never leave. It wasn't his fault. He loved me and he loved his daughter. He didn't want to leave us.'

'But he has Serena. I can't see him now. Where is he? Living somewhere else with a new family?'

Ian knew he didn't have any right to say these things. He didn't want to hurt her. He wanted her to be happy and it saddened him to see the pain and the hurt in her eyes every day. He wanted to heal her, make her whole again but she wouldn't let him.

'No,' she shouted. 'He's not. He'll never betray me. He'd never betray anyone.'

'Merlin you're worse than people you think Sirius Black is innocent.'

Anger burst forth in Serena. She didn't care that she was about to curse a muggle in the middle of a muggle place. Her wand was in her hand and she had said the curse without even thinking it. Yet it just bounced off an invisible wall. She stared in disbelief when she noticed the long oak based wand in Ian's right hand. Then she looked up. Ian was staring at her with the same disbelief on his face. She lowered her right arm anger still coursing through her.

'You know who Sirius Black is?' she whispered almost afraid to hear her own voice.

Ian nodded.

'Yes but you really do know him, don't you?'

Serena's head exploded with thoughts right at that minute. _Ian's a wizard! Oh Shit! Now the Ministry is going to find me. They'll take Kerr away from me. I can't believe I exposed myself. I'm I thick? Oh he is going to tell everyone where I am. I'll have non-stop abuse about Sirius. Oh no. What do I do? _

'Yes I know him,' she replied cautiously.

'Merlin I've been stupid,' laughed Ian suddenly. 'Serena Grey, very clever, is really Serena Rosa White Black, England's top chaser and wife to mass-murderer Sirius Orion Black.'

'He isn't a murderer,' she whispered venomously.

'They said you had gone insane,' he went on hardly listening. 'Yet here you are. Merlin you use to be my favorite player for the whole England team. You know back in my twenties when my son was young.'

Serena eyed him closely and he seemed to notice. He stopped ranting immediately as she looked at him doubtfully. She didn't really know what to say or to do. She had been living in this muggle village for eleven years thinking that she and her daughter, Kerr, were the only people of magical birth for at least twenty miles. Yet here was her friend Ian who had suddenly turned out to be a wizard.

'You went to Dunthworpe Academy?' she asked quietly. 'I know you didn't go to Hogwarts.'

Ian nodded.

'Yes I went to Dunthworpe Academy. My son is there at the moment as well and I'm guessing that is where Kerr is or have you sent to Hogwarts to be with the "Boy-Who-Lived"?'

Serena cringed at the mention of Harry James Potter. She had been best friends with James Potter from the age of two and the best friends with Lily Evans Potter from the age of eleven. Then at the age of twenty-three they had been taken from her along with her husband accused of their murders.

'She's at Dunthworpe,' she said. 'How many others in the village?'

'No others,' he said. 'Just me and my son.'

Serena nodded.

'Are you going to tell the Ministry where I am?' She asked suddenly. 'They think I'm in America. I don't want them to know I'm here. They'll try and take her away from me and I've lost too much to go through it all again.'

Suddenly she was crying. All the emotion, all the pain and all the heartache came flowing out. She had never faced what had happened. She had never looked back. She didn't want too. It hurt so much, too much.

'I'm sorry I tried to curse you. It's just you said that about him and I escaped to stop people saying stuff about him. I miss him so much. I miss them all so much. I left everyone behind because I couldn't stand it. I couldn't stand living without him surrounded by people who were supposed to love and care for him but didn't believe him to be innocent. They said I was crazy and that he murdered James and Lily but he didn't. I know he didn't. He wasn't even the Secret Keeper. I know he wasn't. And it's so hard to love someone with all your heart and to have people tell lies about him.'

Ian stared at her. He believed like everyone else that Sirius Black was a murderer but looking at this woman in front of him who loved and cared so deeply both for him and the people he had supposedly betrayed he didn't understand why nobody believed her. He would. He did. As he watched her sink into the snow her eyes no longer visible through the tears his heart felt so small with shame for having said those things to her. She didn't have any strength left. He knelt down and picked her up in his arms.

'I won't tell them,' he said as she sobbed into his jacket her heart breaking all over again. Had she ever tried to mend it? 'Come on I'll take you home.'


End file.
